More tree planting, sprouting orchids and making a new hazel gate to the wood.

Whilst the wind has been howling all around and rain , sun and cold have taken their turns in trying to unsettle us, we've carried on as usual thanks to being in a sheltered valley and the wood giving shelter.

Each newly planted tree has its own bunch of snowdrops.

We've had the whips from the local garden centre for a couple of weeks now and despite planting nearly every day, still seem to have loads left. It goes without saying we no longer know which species is which as they got jumbled up in the plastic sack after the first week of planting. That doesn't bother us. Each one planted, beit spindle, field maple, cherry or hornbeam has been given a position where it will be treasured and carefully watched over. They won't all survive but come the spring/early summer the buds will eventaully reveal the leaves and we'll soon know what is where.

As the snowdrops appeared we decided they needed dividing to increase their spread across the banks. Then we thought we'd combine dividing snowdrops and planting trees. Now each new sapling has its own group of snowdrops.




It's when you start to work closely with any piece of land that you see more and appreciate just what you have. Although clearing brambles was important we have been careful in not trampling and hacking all over the place. That care has paid dividends already as we now see the Early purple orchids start to appear. No flowers till april probably but the leaves are distinctive with large black blotches marking them out.
These are dotted around the wood on the banks so not likely to be trampled accidentally or dug up by those with 4 paws.

Nothing fixed yet - just looking at different designs.

When not up the wood time has been well spent working the harvestd hazel for the replacement gate into the wood. This unsophisticated bodging suits me as I can't see very well at the moment. Sawing  branches, shaving into shape and cutting more or less to the correct length is manageable though takes longer than it used to - and a good job too. Whether I will be able to cut the tenons and chisel out the mortices with the required accuracy remains to be seen. Haven't settled on the final design yet - maybe a fan shape? We'll see. The basic structure will be the same regardless. One thing for sure, using the shave horse and draw knife is a great way to make a mess!

There's no point at all in doing a job unless you can make  a mess at the same time.